Voters to choose between property taxes and services

MEEKER — When Meeker residents receive their municipal election ballots in the mail this week they may wonder “why bother?”
The election for mayor and three trustee positions are uncontested this year, but this year’s voting opportunity also includes a ballot measure which, if passed, will affect the pocketbooks of property owners.
The Town of Meeker is asking its residents to “deBruce” property taxes — removing the restriction placed on the town by the 1992 TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) amendment. The original intent of the amendment was to restrict uncontrolled government expansion by limiting potential tax revenue.
Under TABOR restrictions, government entities must budget around a set amount of annual tax revenue. Taxes collected above that amount are returned to taxpayers. Additionally, TABOR requires voter permission for tax increases. The amount government entities are allowed to budget increases annually based on population growth and inflation.
If a year’s revenue is less than anticipated the reduced amount sets the standard for the following year, without allowing for any increase. In recession years, that aspect of TABOR creates a “budget crunch” for government entities. So-called “de-Brucing” gives voters the option to exempt individual taxing districts and municipalities from TABOR’s restrictions.
Proponents say TABOR forces government entities to live within a budget. Opponents declare it to be a hangman’s noose for tax revenue supported services. Within a few years of the original amendment, the Town of Meeker passed a measure to “de-Bruce” all revenue with the exception of property taxes.
Currently, the permanent mill levy for property taxes is set at 9.781 mills. Because of TABOR restrictions, the 2008 budget year was required to provide a temporary mill levy reduction to 7.000.
For a single family residence valued by the assessor’s office at $200,000 that means a reduction of $44.27 in 2008 property taxes. A commercial property at the same assessed value would pay $161.30 less under TABOR limits. When all property taxes are taken into consideration, that adds up to a substantial loss in revenue for the town.
The towns of Meeker and Rangely combined only receive 1 percent of the total property tax collected in Rio Blanco County. Property values set by the county assessor’s office are generally much lower than appraised property values given for real estate or mortgage transactions.
According to Town Manager Sharon Day, “The revenue is badly needed to keep up with the cost of providing services.”
The additional revenue would be used, as specified on the ballot, for municipal expenses including public safety, capital expenses and others.
For example, the town may collect $127,252 in property taxes for 2008. The street project alone for 2008 is projected to cost $750,000. According to Day, three or four years ago similar projects cost about half as much.
Voters have the option of permitting the town to collect the full mill levy, increasing the amount of property taxes collected, by voting for the de-Brucing measure. The ballots are due no later than April 1 by 7 p.m. and can be mailed or hand-delivered to Meeker Town Hall.